I’d never have written blog network owners off as being lazy – I know from experience that it’s hard work keeping a bunch of blogs ticking. But it certainly took at bit of effort to get them to put pen to paper and tell me what they’re looking for in a network blogger.

And still some of them couldn’t be arsed. Sheesh. You know who you are. ;o)

Anyway, joking aside, I thought it would be a good idea from a building-a-career-in-blogging point of view to find out just what kind of skills, personalities, and other qualities you need to score a top blogging gig with a top blogging network. At the very least, it should help to put anyone who’s thinking of joining a blog network on the right track when it comes to applying for a writing spot.

So, in no particular order…

The Bloggy Network.

Jacob’s Bloggy Network is a collection of 14 or so blogs and blog directories that cover a diverse set of subjects ranging from geekery and CSS design to cellphones, the XBox 360, and football.

Plenty of variety. But let’s get down to it. What does Jacob look for in a blogger?

Passion – Sounds stupid, but it’s true. Most people won’t enjoy writing if they don’t like what they’re blogging about. Also, they’re probably more likely to quit if they don’t enjoy it.

Writing skills - This is an obvious answer since blogging is writing.

Personality – I think some of the best blogs out there are so popular because of the personality of the person writing. A personality can make or break a blog.

No surprises there. I think Jacob’s pulled out the three main qualities you’re going to need. This’ll make you cringe (my toes are curling now), but just for the sake of me not being able to think of anything better just now, we’ll call them the Three P’s of blogging. Passion, Penmanship, and Personality. Bleuuurrgh. Anyway, the scene has been set. Who’s next?

b5media.

You need me to explain who b5media are? Have you spent the last 2 months in a cupboard? Ayway, for the uninitiated amongst you, b5media is a reasonably new network formed by three reasonably big names in blogging: Jeremy Wright, Duncan Riley, and Darren Rowse. I’ll crib from their site here: ” b5media is a blogging network by bloggers from around the world covering the subjects they are most passionate about.” Current network blogs include Cellphone9.com, Cooking Gadgets, and Flightnest. However, I can see around 30 current blogs in the network with a massively diverse topic base, and with the recent merger of AboutWeblogs.com that’ll take them up to around 50-odd.

So now we know what b5media is all about, let’s find out what they want from you. Man of many words, Jeremy, offered me this…

Personality
Sense of humour
Ability to write

Again, the usual suspects, with personality and sense of humour probably being one and the same. But where are the ‘here’s where I explain what I mean in a few words’ parts to go with those answers? Tsk tsk. However, Jeremy’s ass was saved just a few short minutes later as Shai Coggins, owner of AboutWeblogs.com and now partner in b5media.com expanded… (whether or not that was planned, who knows. Shai – I definitely think you’re needed over there ;o)) ). So, I’m now assuming that whatever Shai told me she looks for in an AboutWeblogs.com blogger, she’ll also look for the same in a b5media blogger. Got that? No? Nevermind… just read what she says. It’s good.

A Passion For Blogging - and a passion for blogging about their chosen topics/niche.
Personality – I like to work with bloggers I can trust and admire. Good people. Not snarky, war-freak, and difficult types. They don’t have to be goody-two-shoes types, but I certainly have an aversion to prima donnas.
Diligence, Patience, Tenacity and Openness (Ooh. That’s 4, isn’t it? Ah, well.) – Becoming successful at problogging takes time and effort. Bloggers who work hard are great to have around. And, with so many things that happen in the world of web logs, you can’t have someone who’s so afraid of changes and risks.

Yep, totally agree. war-freaks are definitely out (?). Anyway, we’re back to passion and personality. See a pattern forming here? But what interests me is that Shai has pulled out one of things that no-one else mentions – the fact that you need to really work hard at this to make it a success. Blogging is not easy money, easy fame stuff. And if you’re thinking of joining a network (or even if you’re going it alone, it’s something that you’ve got to plan for in the long term.

Right, anyone else want to chip in?

Sports Cartel.

Sports Cartel is a network of Sports Blogs. With around 33 properties ranging from MegaBears (about the Chicago Bears) to Be A Coach (not surprisingly about being a youth coach), and The Disabled List (everything you ever wanted to know about sports injuries), I think we can safely say that Sports Cartel has got sports covered.

So, here’s what Stephen Bolen, the owner of Sports Cartel, looks for in a network blogger…

Do you live and die with your team? – We are looking for the most knowledgeable and passionate fans we can find. This ties in well with…
Can you convey your thoughts and opinions in an intelligent manner? – The last thing that we want is an author who cannot express themselves in a readable manner. Writing for the search engines in a keyword-based context can come later.
A blend of quality and quantity. – We ideally want original, fresh content delivered twice a day. The nature of the beast dictates that during a full sports season, writing material comes extremely easy. The 4 to 6 month off-season can present a challenge with content, so making sure ideas remain fresh is critical to our network’s success.

Good stuff, there. The first one, we like. It’s not just about passion, but passion for your team. After all, you’ve got to be a fan of your team to write a blog about it day in, day out.

Stephen’s last point is another that no-one else mentioned. It’s all about staying power, and having the ability to generate fresh and original content – regularly and often. That’s what keeps a blog from going stale – and while none of the other network owners mentioned posting frequency or regularity, you can bet your shoes that it’s written into every blogging contract or blogger agreement out there. That’s how important it is.

Right. Anyone got anything else to add?

Gawker.

Oooh. A big one. When I first started asking network owners about what they looked for in a network blogger, I didn’t really expect many replies. (Ok, secretly I did, but that’ll teach me, eh). But I certainly didn’t expect anyone from the three established networks (WIN, 9rules, and Gawker) to reply. And they didn’t. Well, until this email dribbled into my inbox from none other than Nick Denton, blog owner extraordinaire. Or something…

Demonstrable interest in subject area — a personal blog can do that — and wit.

That’s it. That’s all it said. The man has spoken. But nevertheless, though it was short on words, it was big on advice – even if it did sound like a cut and paste from a corporate job description document that’s fresh from the 20 strong HR team. Maybe it was. Just how big is Gawker these days? Anyway, to you and me, ‘Demonstrable interest in subject area’ roughly translates as ‘a shitload of passion for the things you write about’.

And on that note, we’ll wrap it up. Unless anyone else wants to pipe up? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? Bueller?

So just what do the networks want to see?

Here’s my take on it all. Passion for your subject area is definitely something that will help you get a foot in the door. Writing skills are important, but much of the time, your writing will improve in line with your passion for what you do. More passion = better writing. Personality, wit, a sense of humour – again, all important. And again, all things that will help you improve your writing. And lastly, determination. It’s not a quick win situation, but if you can combine, passion, writing skills, and personality, with plenty of commitment in the long run, you might just find yourself writing for a network in the very near future.

Good luck!

Oh, and one last thing. I lied about the ‘in no particular order’ part. They’re in order of who replied to me first. One thing that I think is important if you’re looking for someone to work with (and I’m talking to bloggers, here, not networks) is to find someone who can demonstrate the same kind of commitment to you as they’ll ask that you show to them. And that includes the little things such as replying to emails. Fast. ;o) Just like choosing any job, really. So thanks to Jacob, Jeremy, Shai, Stephen and Nick.

Cheers guys.

Comments are open if anyone has anything else to add…

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